# Anyone Eat Kosher or Halal?



## TechMetalMan (Apr 2, 2006)

Just curious.

I know most of you guys here are big into your alcohol and pig- and hey, there is nothing wrong with that!

I am just curious if anyone here eats Kosher or Halal or just refrains from pork or anything else.

I personally have thought about stopping my intake of pork for possible religious reasons and the fact that I just do not really enjoy pork beyond maybe a spiral slice ham or bacon on my burger.

*shrugs*

Just a question.


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## cigar_joel (May 16, 2006)

TechMetalMan said:


> Just curious.
> 
> I know most of you guys here are big into your alcohol and pig- and hey, there is nothing wrong with that!
> 
> ...


I use kosher salt....umm, yeah. Thats all. Otherwise i eat most anything.


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## RJT (Feb 12, 2005)

cigar_joel said:


> I use kosher salt....umm, yeah. Thats all. Otherwise i eat most anything.


:tpd:


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## jinny (Sep 30, 2006)

yeah I'll eat almost everything too.

I think I would have a hard time giving up piggypig... they are so delicious 

I'd also have a hard time giving up shelfish... and eating dairy and meat together.... I heart cheeseburgers


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## Jeff (Jan 2, 2005)

The kosher food I've eaten, and I've tried a lot, has tasted like someone put it in a big flavor sucking machine. I just don't find kosher food very flavorful. Also, because they need to get all the blood out, the meat is usually very salty and requires multiple water baths to get it out.

However, the Halal meat I've tried dosn't seem to taste any different than normal.


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## omowasu (Aug 9, 2006)

I dont eat Kosher or Halal as a lifestyle, but I have had my fair share of Kosher foods when I used to live in the North suburbs. There are a lot of Kosher restaruants, stores, and delis in the area as well as in downtown Chicago. I actually really enjoy Kosher foods, but costs can add up a bit as Kosher deals with the entire food production process - from slaughter to sandwich, per se. As a result, the money that would otherwise be saved by mass slaughter and production is lost as Kosher processing is more time and labor intensive. I am fine with that too, in fact my favorite lunch spot is a Kosher deli near my office.


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## Lumpold (Apr 28, 2005)

Again, I am neither 'kosher' or 'halal' by religion, but I do eat quite a large amount of Halal meat, especially mutton. Nothing wrong with it, they're just a bit less fussy about removing bone.


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## azn_fury (Aug 27, 2006)

I usually don't eat pork because of the high fat content but I do enjoy the occasional bbq pork chop my mom makes when I come home from college.


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## dayplanner (Dec 11, 1997)

balls


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## mosesbotbol (Sep 21, 2005)

I don’t keep kosher, but don’t mind eating kosher food. Chicken is quite good when bought kosher. As for beef- tough cuts like brisket come out pretty good. I do buy Halal lamb/goat often; it’s usually cheaper than the regular stuff and the selection cuts are much better at a Halal butcher. Halal lamb (at least where I shop) is domestic; it tastes lighter, less fatty, but a little tougher than the imported lamb at the supermarket.

I can certainly appreciate wanting to keep kosher, but I just love pork, shrimp, clams, and lobster too much! I couldn’t drink milk with meat, but that I because I never did growing up and it just sounds weird.  The thing with a kosher lifestyle is, where do you draw the line? One shopping cart for meat, another for dairy, Kosher plates and silverware…. 

Then there's the kosher wine part, and that would throw out virtually all of my wine and port collection :al


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## TechMetalMan (Apr 2, 2006)

:I appreciate all of the posts and that there has been no bashing.

I am thinking about going Halal in the next year or so. It is a bit more expensive. It will be tough to cut out shellfish and catfish and things- but I don't drink alcohol and I always feel sick after eating certain pork foods, plus most pork is simply a poor meat in general nutritionally. 

I didn't know about the no dairy/meat kosher law. That's odd. I'll have to see if that goes for halal as well.

In my experience halal meats taste no different than straight meats and chicken might be better. I also figure that most halal cuts will be more healthy because I assume it's a smaller market and there is less going on (or it's forbidden- not sure) in the sense of genetic alterations, synthetic foods/medications/treatments, steroids, etc... but I could be wrong.


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## omowasu (Aug 9, 2006)

TechMetalMan said:


> :I appreciate all of the posts and that there has been no bashing.
> 
> I am thinking about going Halal in the next year or so. It is a bit more expensive. It will be tough to cut out shellfish and catfish and things- but I don't drink alcohol and I always feel sick after eating certain pork foods, plus most pork is simply a poor meat in general nutritionally.
> 
> ...


That is one of those caveats with practicing a Kosher lifestyle - the meat of the donor animal should never be served with the milk produced for the animal's young. So, a cheeseburger is a no-no but a kosher prepared hamburger is OK. An egg omelette with chicken is a no-no, but an egg omelette with corned beef is OK, and so forth.

I got used to this pretty quickly when dining in delis downtown, eventually the lack of cheese on a sandwich or burger is no big deal and probably better for you anyway.

Many Indian restaurants also serve Kosher, and I like Indian food. Let us know how it goes, Trent!


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## TechMetalMan (Apr 2, 2006)

Thanks for the tips man, I appreciate that. I don't do a whole lot of cheese with meat anyhow. What if I was snacking though? If I ate a cracker with cheese one minute and the next I ate a cracker with kosher beef?


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## LesIsMore (Oct 5, 2006)

I'm jewish and I never knew that I can't eat chicken with my eggs even though I probably wouldn't do so anyway. And Tech, if you're trying to keep kosher you can't eat the cheese one minute then the meat next. The way I've always learned it is: If you want to eat meat after dairy you wait 30 minutes between the two and if you want to eat dairy after meat you wait 3 hours between the two. I know its weird and I don't really understand it too well myself but take it for what its worth.


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## MadAl (Feb 19, 2006)

LesIsMore said:


> The way I've always learned it is: If you want to eat meat after dairy you wait 30 minutes between the two and if you want to eat dairy after meat you wait 3 hours between the two. I know its weird and I don't really understand it too well myself but take it for what its worth.


I thought it had to do with digestion time. It was originallly 6 hours, but that was kinda modified.


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## j6ppc (Jun 5, 2006)

I don't keep kosher but do tend to buy kosher meats as available, these tend to be minimally processed and free of hormones etc.

Here's a primer for anyone interested in the background.

Oh - eggs are pareve so can be served with anything.


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## TechMetalMan (Apr 2, 2006)

LesIsMore said:


> I'm jewish and I never knew that I can't eat chicken with my eggs even though I probably wouldn't do so anyway. And Tech, if you're trying to keep kosher you can't eat the cheese one minute then the meat next. The way I've always learned it is: If you want to eat meat after dairy you wait 30 minutes between the two and if you want to eat dairy after meat you wait 3 hours between the two. I know its weird and I don't really understand it too well myself but take it for what its worth.


Thanks for the info- I figured that it would be some longer amount of time. I appreciate it!


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## MadAl (Feb 19, 2006)

TechMetalMan said:


> ... personally have thought about stopping my intake of pork for possible religious reasons...


So are you considering conversion?


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## TechMetalMan (Apr 2, 2006)

Yes.


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## Ermo (Jun 3, 2006)

I have eaten kosher and halal, like most here I'll eat just about anything.

I find it strange that ALL muslims I know adhere to the no eating pork thing, but they all drink and smoke, and none pray five times a day.. Seems like they are abiding by convienient rules, I say do it all the way or don't do it at all.


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## Twill413 (Jul 19, 2006)

I have been looking into this. Does anyone have a useful search engine for finding Kosher or Halal grocery stores? I can see buying meat and such there simply for the way it gets to the fridge. My searches have been fruitless. If it helps I am near the milwaukee, wi metro area. Sorry bout the quasi threadjack.


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## mosesbotbol (Sep 21, 2005)

Twill413 said:


> I have been looking into this. Does anyone have a useful search engine for finding Kosher or Halal grocery stores? I can see buying meat and such there simply for the way it gets to the fridge. My searches have been fruitless. If it helps I am near the milwaukee, wi metro area. Sorry bout the quasi threadjack.


Any middle eastern community or orthodox jewish community near you? If you don't have a preference to kosher or halal (not a jew or muslim), halal generally tastes better. Also, lamb and goat prices are less than what you pay at a premium grocery market. ME stores will also have great spices, olives, and ethnic desserts too. Pick up tobacco for Nargile and some music to think you are a sheik...


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## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

cigar_joel said:


> I use kosher salt....umm, yeah. Thats all. Otherwise i eat most anything.


Don't forget pickles


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## MadAl (Feb 19, 2006)

Twill413 said:


> I have been looking into this. Does anyone have a useful search engine for finding Kosher or Halal grocery stores? I can see buying meat and such there simply for the way it gets to the fridge. My searches have been fruitless. If it helps I am near the milwaukee, wi metro area. Sorry bout the quasi threadjack.


Are you looking to have food shipped to you or a local market?


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## TechMetalMan (Apr 2, 2006)

Ermo said:


> I have eaten kosher and halal, like most here I'll eat just about anything.
> 
> I find it strange that ALL muslims I know adhere to the no eating pork thing, but they all drink and smoke, and none pray five times a day.. Seems like they are abiding by convienient rules, I say do it all the way or don't do it at all.


They should not be drinking- that's quite true. I'm not sure that there is anything specifically in the Qur'an that says not to smoke- although I'm sure there is something along the lines of keeping yourself healthy which could be interpreted that way- but there is also the same rule in the Bible stating something like "your body is God's temple" or something like that---which may or may not allude to respecting and keeping your body healthy. So Im not sure it's bad for them to smoke. They should be praying as well. I agree with you.



Twill413 said:


> I have been looking into this. Does anyone have a useful search engine for finding Kosher or Halal grocery stores? I can see buying meat and such there simply for the way it gets to the fridge. My searches have been fruitless. If it helps I am near the milwaukee, wi metro area. Sorry bout the quasi threadjack.


http://www.zabihah.com/_search_proximity.php?location=milwaukee&searchtype=markets

http://www.zabihah.com/_search_proximity.php?location=milwaukee&searchtype=restaurants

Also- check your local phone book or something for specialty groceries or halal groceries.

What do you mean though be "simply for the way it gets to the fridge"?



MadAl said:


> Are you looking to have food shipped to you or a local market?


Actually my local H-E-B (a large grocery chain here in Texas) has a small selection of Halal meats and there is actually a Halal grocery right outside of my neighborhood. I'm in Houston- there is a ton of ethnic diversity and it will not be hard for me to find halal food. I often eat halal when I eat at a local Persian Grill.


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## Twill413 (Jul 19, 2006)

TechMetalMan said:


> What do you mean though be "simply for the way it gets to the fridge"?


I mean the way the animal is slaughtered and cared for after slaughter, in terms of getting ready to go to market. I knew it was done differently, just didn't research it until I looked at your thread.

Also, I mean that I have no religious reason to eat either, so simply for the way it gets to my fridge, and ultimately to my belly.


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## MadAl (Feb 19, 2006)

Twill413 said:


> I mean the way the animal is slaughtered and cared for after slaughter, in terms of getting ready to go to market. I knew it was done differently, just didn't research it until I looked at your thread.
> 
> Also, I mean that I have no religious reason to eat either, so simply for the way it gets to my fridge, and ultimately to my belly.


I did a quick search on kosher markets and got a good amount of hits. Not sure if any are in your area or if they have to be (everybody ships these days). FYI kosher meat extends to the way the animals are fed.


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## Twill413 (Jul 19, 2006)

MadAl said:


> I did a quick search on kosher markets and got a good amount of hits. Not sure if any are in your area or if they have to be (everybody ships these days). FYI kosher meat extends to the way the animals are fed.


Thanks for that. I didn't come across that in my readings this afternoon, or maybe I missed it. I was just trying to give some general context to my statement. From what I have read Halal seems a little more tasty. Short of raising your own cattle, either way seems the way to go to get the best quality meat.


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## TechMetalMan (Apr 2, 2006)

Twill....I figured that's what you meant. That is another reason I am interested in it outside the fact that I am considering conversion...

Health benefits etc...


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